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5 Ways to Increase Candidate Quality – 11/5/2012

In September, the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent, the lowest it has been since January 2009. However, this decrease still left 12.1 million Americans unemployed. With such a vast pool of job seekers to choose from, one would imagine that candidate quality presents little issue for employers. While that’s true in some industries, healthcare jobs, like registered nurse and physician assistant, held steady during the recession and have increased robustly throughout the recovery. When coupled with a shortage of nursing program graduates, it has become increasingly difficult for doctor’s offices, clinics, hospitals and other facilities to secure top-notch candidates. Fortunately, as a hiring manager or healthcare recruiter there are ways to increase candidate quality.

1. Pursue Passive Job Seekers

According to a 2011 LinkedIn survey, 80 percent of the current workforce is open to discussing the possibility of a new job. This includes 21 percent who are actively searching for a new opportunity, 15 percent who are thinking about changing jobs, and 44 percent who aren’t looking but are still willing to talk with recruiters. What does this mean for you? Never hesitate to reach out to top candidates. At minimum, you’ve made them aware of the opportunity and can follow up periodically to gauge any change in interest. And at best, you’ve given them the reason to leave their current employer they’ve been passively yearning for.

2. Use Targeted Job Boards

Newspaper help wanted ads have gone the way of the Dodo, and general employment boards are inefficient and ineffective for highly skilled positions. Hiring managers who want to attract superior quality candidates know they have to go where the talent is. This means posting positions on niche or industry job boards like HealthECareers. Designed to connect employers and job seekers in the healthcare industry, thousands of active health professionals visit HealthECareers every day.

3. Source Your Network

You may already know the person who is going to introduce you to your next best discovery, so consider the employees, alumni associations and other medical professionals in your circle as a prime source of high quality referrals. You can post a notice of new jobs in LinkedIn groups related to healthcare (there are currently more than 9000 of them) or nursing (almost 1500 right now). You can also attend gatherings of local healthcare and business professionals. Through all of these methods, you’ll connect with high-caliber professionals who are actively looking as well as those thinking of shopping around.

4. Create Wow-Worthy Job Descriptions

Details pertaining to required education, skills and experience are a necessary component of any healthcare job description. However, the highest quality candidates are looking for a lot more than a list of bullet points when searching for their next position. Many of the best workers thrive on continual challenge and opportunities for advancement. To attract the best and brightest, you need to make that administration position or physician assistant job sound better than all rest.

5. Sell Every Job as the Next Step

Most people change employers for an increase in salary or title. But the highest quality candidate for any position is the one who has handled those duties before. This means you’ll often be asking professionals to make a lateral move, something they may find less attractive than a promotion. So sell them on the next step. Look for possible gaps in their experience, such as working at a smaller volume doctor’s office or managing fewer nurses. You can then present your position as the next step on the ladder of opportunity, even if it’s essentially the same role.

For determined hiring managers and recruiters the best healthcare job candidates are always within reach. Give these five ways to increase candidate quality a try and make every hire your best one.